Category: Camera Reviews

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Pentax MX – The sense of an ending

Pentax MX 35mm SLR

Endings are strange things. It’s often hard to see where the ending of anything is until years after the event.  Rome wasn’t built in a day they say but it didn’t fall in a day either.  It’s only on reflection, after the passage of time, that you can put a pin in a calendar and say, ‘this marks the beginning of the end’. So it was to be for the Pentax MX. The last fully mechanical camera to come from any major manufacturer.

When Olympus Launched the OM-1 system in 1972 it was a game changer.  Prior to 1972 35mm SLR cameras had gotten more sophisticated and quality had steadily increased but at the cost of weight and size.  Until the OM-1 it would be fair to say cameras had bloated in a kind of bigger is best way.

The OM-1 forced a rethink on the industry. Some fine cameras had an early demise because of it.  Olympus launched it with a whole slew of accessories and lenses to assure its success and against its somewhat bloated competition the OM-1 was quick at winning friends.  David Bailey promoting it at every opportunity probably didn’t hurt it either. Some pros avoided it, feeling its lightweight looks may translate as not hardy enough and they stuck solidly to their Nikon Fs as pros are wont to do.

For many others though the OM-1 really cut the mustard with its tiny size and glamorous looks.  Sleek and refined like a racehorse. Underneath the skin though the OM-1 is a relatively simple beast with little in the way of automation.  It has through the lens (TTL) open aperture metering but that’s about it on the technical gizmo side of things. It also featured  a very wide and bright viewfinder although there’s no aperture or shutter speed readout. The OM-1 has just a simple needle to show whether exposure is correct.  I remember stepping up from a Pentax Spotmatic with stop down only metering and being blown away by how big a field of view the OM-1 created and the brightness of its focus screen. Of course the OM-1 had its foibles like the shutter speed being on a ring around the lens but it was still a magnificent jump from the Spotmatic with its old school stop down metering and fiddly M42 thread mounted lenses.

So there it was. By 1974 the OM-1 was busy eating the big fours dinners and the big 4 (Pentax, Nikon, Canon and Minolta) now became the big 5.  What would the original big 4 do to counteract this upstart pretender?

Pentax MX and Olympus OM-1
The MX – The Pentax answer to the upstart Olympus OM-1.

Nikon of course completely ignored it – They already had the pros, hook line and sinker so why worry.  Other manufacturers like Canon and Minolta had tried in the past to wrest the pro market away from Nikon but had never succeeded and so were the people losing most from the OM-1 tucking into their dinner.

Minolta and Canon had their own antidotes and strategies to the upstart Olympus.  Canon would launch the AE-1 and get the price down for Joe Blow with a camera made from silicon chips and plastic. Minolta would crunch their now bloated looking XE down in size and produce the XD – barely bigger than an OM-1 but Minolta managed to cram in Aperture Priority Auto, Shutter Priority Auto (biff, take that Canon) and topped it off with a Program Mode (another poke in the eye for Canon). Then topped that lot off with an even brighter focusing screen, vertical metal bladed stepless shutter and a final check metering system which would constantly adjust shutter speed up to the moment of taking the actual picture – in short a techno challenge to Olympus. “OK matey” Minolta smirked, “let’s see you top that lot and keep the size fashionable“.

With Canon going all plastic and silicon and Minolta turning up the heat on the technology it left Pentax seeking a chair to grab in the endless game of musical chairs among the big boys.  Pentax had been steadily losing market share almost from the moment they started the 35mm SLR market so they had to find an antidote to the upstart OM-1.

Pentax back then were stuck firmly in the middle market aka the middle class buyers with spare cash to spend (remember these things cost serious money back in the day) but not enough passion to take a second mortgage on a Nikon. It would fall on Pentax to build the real contender to the OM-1.  While this would never be the huge success in its day ( only an estimated 1 million units sold in almost 10 years) it would go on to be one of the best loved cameras ever to come out of Pentax. The Pentax MX.

Pentax MX and KX 35mm SLRs
The Pentax MX with its immediate predecessor the KX – a serious slimming program.

The origins of the MX lay in its immediate predecessor the KX.  The KX was one of a trio of new cameras from Pentax launched the new Pentax ‘K ‘mount as Pentax finally woke up to the fact that M42 threaded lens mounts and stop down metering of their previous generation were yesterdays news and badly outclassed.  The KX would be the mid range in the new K series behind the K2 model which featured Aperture Priority Auto Mode (and the worlds most fiddly film speed selector) and above the budget KM model. The K series would eventually include the super budget K1000 for the financially constrained. The KX is a beautiful camera in its own right, almost Nikon like in its feature set and build quality but like Minoltas equally beautiful XE they were deader than fried chicken once the OM-1 changed the game to compact sized 35mm SLRs.

Minoltas apparent antidote to the OM-1 was same size (more or less) but with a whole array of features – this was natural for Minolta as they were always pioneers and always pushing the technology envelope .  The Pentax approach was play the OM-1 at its own game.  I said at the start of this that the OM-1, apart from its size, is not a particularly technological camera and Pentax would play the Olympus game of small size and low tech.

Pentax MX and Olympus OM-1
Even smaller than an OM-1! The MX is petite all round but very finely made.

So the MX is basically a low tech / no tech camera, using a traditional fully mechanical mechanism with its controls laid out where most people familiar with 35mm SLRs would expect them.  After all it was Pentax who originated the control layout on most film cameras and for years no one had changed it for fear of being different. Olympus did and there are still people moaning about it decades after the camera ceased production!

Pentax split their bets in many ways because the running mate to the MX was the ME and ME Super which were all electronic and aimed more at the beginner market and were mainly geared for Auto Mode shooting..

Camera Controls
Pentax MX – Sweet simplicity with traditional controls.
Pentax ME Super Controls
Push button all electronic with the Pentax ME Super.

It’s all so obvious now but back then the industry could not be sure electronic cameras would be accepted by anyone.  No one knew about possible reliability issues and photography aficionados were reluctant to part with their hard earned cash on new fangled technology which hadn’t been proven. Canon didn’t even try to convert the aficionados but aimed its AE-1 at the people who had never even considered buying a ‘serious’ camera with a low price and the promise of automation to make life easy. Pentax would ignore those kinds of people and aim the MX at the people who favoured a well built, all mechanical camera that was completely traditional in approach. I don’t doubt back in the 1976 many people found comfort in a camera that seemed familiar when they were spending close to two months wages. Plenty of good products have met an early demise due to consumer fear of ‘the new’ when they are too different from the crowd.

So that’s the history what’s the camera actually like…

I came to the MX via a KX and the OM-1.  The KX is a splendid camera with just about everything you could ask for in a fully mechanical camera.  A match needle arrangement with shutter speed indicated plus an aperture readout via the classic Judas window, Silicon Photo Diode (SPD) metering so the meter is sensitive and more reliable than the older Cadmium Sulfide (CdS) types. Overall its a workhorse – solid and reliable.  The OM-1 is one of my all time favourites to use and I owned one in 1976 as my first professional class camera so the MX would have its work cut out to win me over for sure…

So lets look at the camera – you are getting a fully mechanical camera which uses batteries only for its metering system which is based on a Gallium Arsenide cell (GaAS). Why Pentax went with GAaS its hard to say.  Very few cameras ever used it. The layout is virtually identical to almost any Pentax 35mm SLR up to the MX and plenty of other 35mm SLRs used the same layout too.

Pentax MX Top Deck
Completely traditional layout for the top deck of the MX – Apart from size scarcely different from the venerable Spotmatic.

The difference is it’s incredibly small and light, acing even the OM-1 in all areas regarding weight and size and its viewfinder has the highest magnification of any 35mm SLR at x.97 (versus the OM-1 at x.95) .  Spectacle wearers beware with the MX – it’s almost impossible to see the whole field of view unless your eyeball is pressed hard against the viewfinder due to the magnification factor. The MX displays about 95% of the film frame, less then the OM-1s impressive 97% but none the less still larger than many 35mm SLRs of its period.

Field of View (FOV) and Magnification

People are often confused about field of view and magnification factors and particularly argumentative when it come to the OM-1 versus the Pentax MX so here’s a simple guide to illustrate the effect these have…

A typical 35mm SLR from around the period of the Pentax MX would present around 93-94% Field of View and typically a magnification factor around the x.85 mark. There’s no doubt the view through the OM-1 is impressive for its expansiveness but of higher value to me is brightness and resolution of the focus screen. A tighter grained screen that’s very bright will make focus easier as well as a higher magnification. It’s worth mentioning also that FOV and Magnification factors will usually be based around a 50mm lens – longer or shorter focal length lenses will change the numbers. For example many Minolta SLRs will return a value of x1 (life size) for magnification when using a 58mm Rokkor.

Viewfinder magnification factor
Magnification Factor
Left hand view is as you are seeing with your eyeball. Right hand view is an exaggerated minus magnification factor showing how the viewfinder makes things look smaller.
Field of View (FOV)
Field of View (FOV)
The outer edge is what what will be exposed on the film. The red line simulates what the view will be like in the viewfinder.

Filed of view and Magnification factors are linked. Reduce the magnification factor and the FOV gets wider. Increase it and the FOV narrows. There’s also an issue that both FOV and magnification have an effect on brightness because both affect light transmission so cameras manufacturers have to strike a balance between these opposing factors.

The tiny percentages in the FOV and magnification don’t seem much on paper but they translate to a very striking difference when looking through a camera viewfinder. So which is better the OM-1 with its width or the MX with its higher magnification? I found little to choose between them . The OM-1 has a wider more immersive viewfinder but the MX was brighter and seemed easier to find focus. I could live with either.


It’s not all good news though – That small size and weight of the MX comes with a price.  To help trim the size down Pentax used very thin top and bottom plates and as a result the camera is susceptible to damage.  A small drop which a ‘K’ series would shrug off will almost always bend the metal on an MX.

Pentax MX with 50mm f1.7 'M' Series Lens
Pentax MX sporting the standard 50mm f1.7 ‘M’ Series Lens – its sharp, contrasty and like the camera very compact.

One of the nicest features of the MX is its stop down feature – activated by pressing the self timer inwards.  It’s one of the best positioned and feeling stop downs I have ever used.  Only the Canon FTb can match it for feel and positioning.

The MX has a very precise feel with a soft and smooth feeling advance lever and a very positive shutter release.  Mirror damping is excellent and considering the camera is so small and light near miraculous in its lack of mirror slap and vibration. The whole feel with the camera is of precision like a Swiss watch.

Like the OM-1 its has a removable  focus screen – Pentax weren’t going to miss a trick on getting the MX to have everything the OM-1 had. The screen is even brighter than the OM-1s though not quite as bright and sharp as the Minolta XDs but it would be a close run thing. Your chances of finding alternate screens are slim to zero these days so it’s best not to mess about with this unless you are very confident. I got the yips super bad when refurbishing our one knowing it’s virtually irreplaceable.



Pentax MX showing stop down lever
Showing just how small the MX is in average hands and the wonderfully positioned stop down lever.
Focus Screen
The bit I wish they HADN’t copied from the OM-1 – the very awkward mirror bumpers!

Pentax did though have one thing that maybe they could have NOT copied the OM-1 on and that’s the extremely awkward design of the mirror bumpers.  Both the OM-1 and the MX have a hellish set of mirror bumpers which are no fun at all to replace. Pentax even upped the game on this score and made the door hinge seal on the back even more complicated than the OM-1! For a more detailed look at this check out the light seal guide here.

The shutter on the MX is a conventional horizontal type using a rubberised silk curtain. If you get one DO NOT touch this.  They are very fragile. Controls are very positive throughout although I did find the ASA dial a bit fiddly. Thankfully that’s not something I tend to change too often.

The camera handles extremely well and its low bulk makes it very attractive to shoot with – I completely enjoyed using our one, its compact size keeps it discrete for street work.

The metering system is somewhat unusual and is managed through coloured LEDs alongside the shutter speed indicator. I prefer a needle as it gives a more nuanced reading but the LED approach with the MX is quite intuitive.

Metering

Red LED below centre indicates 1 stop under exposed.

Green LED at centre indicates perfect exposure.

Yellow LED above centre indicates 1/2 stop over exposed.

The meters on the MX have a reputation for trouble which is usually down to corrosion issues with its wiring, battery terminals or shutter switch.

The MX used all of the ‘M’ series lenses developed for the ‘K’ series.  These are excellent performers by and large.  Most MX units were sold with the standard 50mm f1.7 which is very sharp and like the MX very compact.

Shooting with the Pentax MX

I used our sample for a couple of rolls doing some street photography and found it handled well. It had a nice snap to focus thanks to its excellent focus screen and viewfinder and was suitably discrete. With a short lens on, it’s nicely balanced and slick, almost as unobtrusive as a small range finder. I was more than half inclined to keep it but in the end I decided to sell it on. It’s a lovely camera and deserved to be shot more frequently than I would ever have the time for. It was a tough call as to whether to keep it, but on balance with my larger sized hands I feel a bit more comfortable with the OM-1 or the Minolta XD.  It seems, at least for me, Pentax shrunk it down just that little bit too much. Thats not to say there is anything wrong with the MX – its quite delightful to shoot with and if it were the only camera I owned I could be happy. I had sleepless nights trying to decide whether to sell it so I think that tells you something.

Pentax M with Ilford XP2 test shot
Discrete and perfect for urban street work – Covent Garden with Ilford XP2
Pentax MX Test Shot with XP2
Discrete and perfect for urban street work – Elizabeth line underground with Ilford XP2

The end…

The MX was never a great success in its day, it is estimated that only around a million were sold in almost 10 years compared to an estimated 6 million Canon AE-1s sold in the same period. You can see from the numbers that quality doesn’t always win out!

In the short time I used it I could well see its charms, it’s a very beautiful looking camera, it handles well and shoots marvellously. If you can find a good one, fancy owning a Pentax and don’t want the very agricultural feel of the K1000 so beloved of new age film shooters then an MX is definitely worth investigating. The MX has better handling than a K1000 plus has a self timer and depth of field (DoF) preview. On top of that it has a far superior meter and viewfinder and of course was built as a premium camera where the K1000 was built to be cheap for beginners and students.

The MX would turn out to be the last new all mechanical camera from any of the big 5. There was a brief re-emergence in the 1990s of high quality fully mechanical cameras from the likes of Leica, Contax, Nikon and even Olympus but these were limited production runs with jaw dropping prices (skywards of £2,000 in 1990!).


It seems fitting that the last affordable, high quality, fully mechanical camera would be produced by Pentax who had perfected the original 35mm SLR concept and made it at a price that someone who wasn’t the Duke of Westminster could afford. The MX would be the last of its kind before the electronics revolution and looking back now, it would signal the sense of an ending for the golden age of 35mm SLRs.

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The ‘X’ Factor  – Minolta X Series X-700, X-500 and X-300

Minolta X-500 X-300 X-700

The way we were


Before we discuss the Minolta X Series (X-700, X-500 and X-300 etc), let’s step back in time.

Back in the mid 1970s and early 1980s the 35mm SLR camera market was in turmoil. The big boys were busy forcing the smaller companies out and there was a rush of developments as each manufacturer tried to get the drop on the competition.

The smaller players just ran out of cash and gave up, some of them became cheap 3rd party suppliers for accessories, some became sub suppliers for the big boys and some, sadly, were relegated to a footnote in camera history.
Any avid reader of the photography magazines back then can doubtless remember a certain headiness as manufacturers seemed to be churning out an ever larger number of techno marvels. The smart phone market of the last few years would be similar for younger readers.

The drivers on the market were simple – get more 35mm SLRs sold – pronto! Get more sold, sell more cameras, get cameras sold NOW!  The biggest headache to getting more 35mm SLRs sold for manufacturers was the average camera owner/user lacked the interest/brainpower/willpower to learn photography – they just wanted to take some happy snaps on hols. Getting a picture of little Timmy in the paddling pool or cousin Sarah’s big day was what they wanted, not learning abstract things like depth of field or film reciprocity.  Getting the volumes up would mean (a) getting the camera to do some of the ‘thinking’ and (b) getting the price down to make it appealing enough for people to consider dumping their trusty Kodak Instamatic.

Between 1974 and 1981 there would be a rush of developments culminating in 1985 with the first practical and commercially successful auto-focus system in a 35mm SLR – the Minolta X-7000 Dynax.  In the stampede towards this there was a plethora of developments from the big 5 manufacturers as they duked it out to be last man standing. The holy grail back then was ‘Program’ mode. Getting the camera to do the tricky bit of setting the shutter speed and aperture.

From the mind of Minolta

Minolta as ever were very much up the front in terms developments.  Minolta had a history of being first in the pool. Their beautiful XE model was killed by the Olympus OM-1 which forced the entire industry to go for small form factors.
Minolta hit back (hard!) with the very beautiful XD7 which got the size down to OM-1 proportions and provided the first camera with AP, SP, Program and Manual modes. A masterpiece of design, but sadly the XD was too expensive and too sophisticated for most people. “Most people” included Minolta themselves who never mentioned the Program mode until the second revision! The XD was so sophisticated it seems even Minolta didn’t get it!

By the late 1970s Minoltas product range was eclectic – the venerable but now outdated SRTs (in three different flavours) , the all new budget end XG series brimming with plastic and techno and the swish and sophisticated XD priced so high people fainted or cried in the shop (it was about equivalent to about 2 months take home pay for the average Joe or Joanna!)

Minolta had a complete line up but, each of these cameras was entirely different in terms of production and their technology. What was needed was some rationalisation and some serious price snipping and Minolta clearly had a plan in mind – the goal would be a simplified line of cameras all using the same base but with differing levels of features. This would become the X-x00 Series (Minolta X Series).

Minolta XG-M and X-700 X-500
The last of the XG series – the XG-M the doorway to the Minolta X-700. You can see the family resemblance!

The humble XGs would provide the stepping stone to the X-x00 series and pioneered most of the manufacturing processes and construction techniques which would follow Canons approach with their AE-1. This basically meant all electronic control and plastic bodies! In 1981 Minolta launched the XG-M – the final iteration of the XG series and the last stepping stone towards the Minolta X Series. The SRT range was killed off and Minolta had their goal of a simplified line up in their reach.

The X-x00 Series were among the last manual focus 35mm SLRs but were built so well that they would trudge on for over 20 years becoming arguably the last man standing in the manual focus SLR market.

The Minolta X-700 – ‘X’ The Unknown Factor


Minolta had gotten it wrong for all the right reasons with their splendid XD series which supported Aperture Priority (AP), Shutter Priority (SP) and Program mode plus full manual and all packed into a body scarcely larger than the diminutive Olympus OM-1 and the XD is indeed a splendid beast.  One of the finest manual focus camera made but the problem was price. It was expensive – granted you were getting a high quality camera but the market was moving away from ‘the best’ to getting something in the shops that would be ‘good enough’ at a sharp price point. This would get some more kit sold and also save on Kleenex and smelling salts for Joe and Joanna when buying a camera.

Minolta XD and the X-700
The technically superior XD gently faded away as the X-700 became the most popular Minolta SLR ever. High quality was no match for low price in the camera wars of the late 1970s.

Enter the X-700 – Minoltas best ever selling camera.  The X-700 may have been a bit slow getting here but when it did it had a lot of features in the bag….leveraged off of the chassis of the XG-M the X-700 would look very similar but under the hood it had been hotted up with a huge bag of goodies courtesy of some fairly dense electronics.

Minolta X700 Under the hood
It’s complicated – Minolta shoehorned a lot of electronics into the X-700 but it’s basic mechanics are the same as the X-500 and X-300.

The goodies Minolta shoehorned into the X-700 body included;

  • Stepless electronic shutter for AP and Program mode plus manual speeds from 4 seconds to 1000th plus B.
  • Final check metering system just like the XD.
  • One of the best focus screens of any camera – better even than the XDs screen which was itself amazing.
  • Exposure lock function.
  • LED metering showing recommended speed (or camera selected speed if in Program or SP mode) but not actual speed set if in manual mode.
  • Aperture readout in the viewfinder.
  • Exposure compensation of up to 2 stops.
  • Film Safe Indicator which shows if film is transporting ok.
  • Touch sensitive on/off for the meter – putting your finger on the shutter release activates the meter. After 15 seconds of no activity the meter turns itself back off.
  • Full TTL flash operation- the first camera ever to have this!
  • Replaceable/Swappable focus screens – although this was touted as a feature and was possible Minolta never did push the optional screens which included a grid screen and a microprism centre dot. They are now VERY rare.
  • Motor drive compatible – Minolta did have a penchant for wrecking sales of their cameras by NOT having a motor drive capability – the X-700 finally got it right with a fully featured motor drive accessory.
Minolta X-700 European Camera of the Year
Minolta X-700 proudly showing its European Camera of the Year 1981 lens cap.

All these features made the camera attractive to the complete newbie and the advanced amateur and the Program mode made it possible for even complete beginners to get some decent shots. While Minolta pitched the X-700 as a professional camera, and manufactured a whole bag of accessories for it the camera was never really successful as a professional bit of kit and it was stuck firmly at the prosumer end of the market where it cut quite a dash.

The X-700 was so successful that it was awarded European Camera of the Year in 1981 and Minolta carried on bashing them out from 1981 to 1999, first in Japan, then in Malaysia and finally in China making it one of the last manual focus cameras in production – only its less expensive cousin the X-300 had a longer production run.

Camera Controls
The X-700s top panel – you can see the XG-M lineage. The big difference is the ‘P’ for Program.
Exposure Compensation and ASA dial
The X-700s Exposure Compensation and ASA control – again very much like an XG-M.
The XG-M Controls
The XG-M controls – you can see it only lacks the ‘P’ Program mode – otherwise identical to an X-700.
The XG-M Exposure compensation and ASA dial
The XG-M Exposure Compensation and ASA dial – identical to the X-700.

Now to get all the features in to the right price point Minolta had to make some compromises so you get a plastic body, horizontal cloth shutter as opposed to the Seiko metal bladed vertical shutter in the XD, lots of internal components made of plastic and the finesse of the XD is lacking BUT…. It’s still miles nicer to shoot with over many cameras of the period – perhaps even most. The body may be plastic but its quite tough and durable and it fits in the hands well with all of the controls well positioned.

The film advance is a bit more firm than the svelte XD and all of the controls have a more plastic feel lacking the poise of the XD’s excellent damping in its controls but it works, and works well.
As an aside here….for all the XDs superiority Minolta sold fewer XDs in the entire production run of XDs than they sold X-700s in the first two years of X-700 production.

Minolta most likely saw the X-700 as a place holder in the manual focus marketplace while they sneakily got on with producing the apocalyptic 7000 series which would very firmly push a cream pie into almost every other manufacturers face but time has shown what an excellent design the X-700 actually was.

Minolta X-700 with the MD f1.4 50mm lens and Motor Drive 1
The X-700 fully loaded with the Motor Drive 1, the MD 50mm f1.4 lens and viewfinder eye-cup.

The biggest upside to the X-700 today is its ability to use almost every Minolta Rokkor lens ever made, giving you access to a huge range of glass in a relatively modern body.  Admittedly some of the oldest glass won’t work so well in full Program mode and you need to be on your toes to remember to always have older lenses on their minimum aperture (largest F number) when shooting in Program (the camera wont warn you about setting the lens aperture with a non MD lens installed!) but the camera will work ok though its generally better to have the later MD lenses with it as its quite light – older lenses with their all metal constructions can make the camera feel nose heavy and awkward especially without a motor drive attached.

In Program mode I find the X-700 tends to favour speed over aperture a bit too much for my liking and mostly shoot in AP mode whenever possible. The XDs ‘secret’ program mode yields better results in my opinion. But by and large a good X-700 meters accurately and well and shoots reliably.

Minolta did provide alternate focus screens for the X-700. A cautionary tale here they are hellish to replace and best left alone unless you want to risk a scratched screen. The alternate screens which included a grid type screen are very rare indeed. On the upside if you have a damaged screen it odes at least offer the option of finding a standard screen and replacing it.

The Minolta Capacitor-itis


The X-700 does though have an Achilles heel – The cheap and nasty capacitors Minolta used late in its production.  Units with a serial number below 2000000 used expensive tantalum capacitors and these tend to be very reliable.  During the X-700s long production run the price of tantalum went through the roof and in the cut throat world of camera manufacturing of the 1980s Minolta swapped the expensive tantalum bead capacitors for inexpensive electrolytic capacitors to keep the price down.  Electrolytic capacitors have a rather limited life and the result is many X-700s now have defective capacitors – two in fact! There’s the easy one to get at in the base of the camera (shutter release capacitor)  and the hard one that’s underneath the top PCB under the cover (aperture control capacitor). 

Shutter Release Capacitor
This is a tantalum capacitor version of the X-700 – the blue bead. If this is an electrolytic type they can fail.
Aperture Control Capacitor
The aperture control capacitor on the right. If this one is an electrolytic capacitor and it fails its tough to replace.

While these are not impossible to repair it needs a good low power soldering iron, patience and a steady hand.  We have a Minolta X-700 Capacitor Replacement Guide here.  The give away of a failing capacitor is when you press the shutter the LEDs in the viewfinder go out and the camera doesn’t fire.
Sometimes the camera will reset itself after a power off and back on again but the fault will return.

Now I said it’s the Achilles heel but the X-700 was built down to a price so they can also suffer other ills which will mimic a capacitor failure but are a good deal harder to fix.  These include shutter derails and faulty electromagnets for the shutter plus of course IC or circuit board failures though these are relatively rare. Like any old camera they can also suffer poor shutter performance due to lack of lubrication on their shutter rollers.

People whinge mightily about the capacitor-itis on the X series on camera forums but in truth compared to many camera issues that crop up on classic cameras its an easy-ish fix – just try fixing the issues that arise on the Pentax ME Super and you’ll quickly see that fixing a few capacitors is nothing much to moan about. From the Minolta X Series, the Minolta X-300 and Minolta X-500 also suffer from capacitor-itis.

The Unknown Factor of “X”

It’s hard to say what makes the X-700 so good – it has a very positive and smooth winder compared to most of its contemporaries, its shutter release is all electronic allowing a smooth pull off and its controls are well laid out with a good positive feel. Unlike some of its contemporaries it feels as if it was designed by people who used cameras and spent time getting its ergonomics right. Certainly its viewfinder is one of the very best thanks to the Accu-Matte focusing screen which is actually better than even the top line XD.

I always enjoy shooting my own pair of X-700s and they always deliver reliable results.  It’s a camera that’s equally at home in the hands of a beginner or the more advanced photographer.

Minolta X700 with standard MD 50mm f1.7 lens
Minolta X700 with standard MD 50mm f1.7 lens – a capable combination.


So there it is – the X-700 is a very capable, reasonable quality manual focus SLR with all the bits you need and nothing that you don’t.  It uses off the shelf SR44 batteries so its easy to power (unlike some other cameras of similar vintage) and generally very reliable – doubly so if it’s an early one with tantalum capacitors or has had its ageing electrolytic capacitors replaced. The standard lens when they were in production was the late model Minolta MD 50mm f1.7 lens which is very sharp and gives excellent contrast.

The Minolta X-500 – Secret Ingredient ‘X’

In 1983 Minolta released the X-500 as a lower cost alternative to the X-700.  This replaced the X-700s running mate the XG-M, the last of the XG series and until the Minolta X-500 arrived the lower cost alternative to the X-700.

The X-500 is broadly comparable to an XG-M and the X-700 but it has a few tricks up its sleeve which make it quite different for the more expert photographer. The most obvious difference on the surface when compared with the X-700 is the Program mode being deleted and no exposure compensation dial.  I seldom use exposure compensation myself as I mostly shoot in manual and just tweak the aperture or speeds.

It wasn’t just about deleting stuff though.  Minolta made some key changes to the Minolta X-500 probably based on experience gained with the X-700 and these form the secret ingredients for the Minolta X-500.

Minolta X-500 35mm SLR
Minolta X-500 – Capable and preferred by the more advanced photographer.
Minolta X-500 film speed dial
Minolta X-500 – the exposure compensation is deleted. But film speed range is increased over the X-700.
Minolta X-500 Shutter speed
Minolta X-500 -The shutter speed and film advance eerily resemble the XG-M just like the X-700.

The Minolta X-500 had a more advanced meter display – the X-700 only shows the speed selected by the camera or the recommended speed if in manual mode. The Minolta X-500 shows the recommended speed and what’s actually set. I am so ancient I always look at the shutter speed dial anyway but some people prefer a bit of confirmation through the viewfinder.

There is also a minor change where the Minolta X-500 will meter accurately whether or not depth of field preview (DoF)  is engaged. On an X-700 if you use the DoF preview you are stopping down the lens and reducing the light to the meter so the meter will change – the X-500 provides ‘true’ metering irrespective of whether the DoF preview is in use.

The secret ingredient ‘X’ – The biggest change which doesn’t show externally was the flash synch speed. On the X-700 if a dedicated flash is installed the camera will automatically set the shutter to 1/60th and you cant override this (there is a mod that can be carried out to the X-700 electronics but its a scary bit of work).

On the X-500 the camera can adjust the shutter speed for slow flash synch to illuminate only a background to act as a fill flash. This give you slow ‘X’ synch capability. In effect you can set the shutter speed at any speed you wish – useful for fill flash. In truth its a bit of faff to get this running as the camera will override settings once the flash charges so you have to be quick with the metering and lock the value into the exposure lock/memory. Its incredibly inelegant and awkward and frankly easier to just run in manual mode with an auto-flash.

Also added to the X-500 was an expanded ISO range of 12-3200 ASA compared to. The 25-1600 on the X-700.

Because of the fill flash capability, wider ISO range and the more informative metering many experienced photographers tended to prefer the X-500. The market didn’t agree back when it was in production and by 1985 it was withdrawn after only two years production – one of the shortest production runs of any 35mm SLR!
The fact is the X-500 was always caught between two stools – its more expensive sister the X-700 and the  low cost X-300. The middle ground is always a dicey market to play in.

Like the X-700 the X-500 can accept any of the literally hundreds of Minolta Rokkor lenses and uses completely standard and readily available  SR44 batteries.

On the downsides just like the X-700 the X-500 can suffer capacitor failure – unlike the X-700 it’s a lot easier to fix as there’s only one to worry about in the base. By the time the X-500 hit the production line the tantalum capacitors were gone so you will most likely only ever see these with the electrolytic capacitors although some early ones do have a tantalum capacitor.

Minolta X-500 Capacitor
The pesky 220uF 4V Electrolytic (ALEC) capacitor in the base of the X-500 is its weak spot. It’s the thing that looks like a soda tin on the left. CAUTION: The flexible circuit board is VERY sensitive and will melt very easily.

Overall all I have used the X-500 and it’s a sweet camera, for myself there’s not much to choose between it and its more popular siblings but the X-500 is harder to come by.  There were so few of them made by comparison to the X-700 and the X-300 (only an estimated 350,000 produced compared to approximately 2 million X-700s). In quite some time of looking I have only ever had four X-500s come into my possession. Certainly a sleeper camera because modern film shooters still tend to be smitten with the X-700 and overlook the X-500.  It’s still suffering middle child syndrome decades after it was made as modern film camera fans tend to overlook it – seduced by the charms of its sexier big sister.

Minolta X-500 black finish
One of the few X-500s we have seen. This one was in a terrible shape but was restored and sold some time ago – custom leatherette and a complete rebuild.

Like the X-700 the standard lens was usually the Minolta MD 50mm f1.7 but I suspect back in its day most people would have opted for the upgrade to the MD 50mm f1.4 more befitting its advanced amateur/semi-pro status.
Unlike the X-700 which was only available in black outside of Japan the X-500 was supplied in silver as standard and black as a cost option.  The black version has a ghastly plastic film advance lever rather than the metal type used on the silver model.

The Minolta X-300 – ‘X’ Marks the Spot

To add to the Minolta X Series and hoover up sales at the lower end of the market Minolta released the X-300 the same year as the X-500 in 1983 – the X-300 was around 40% less expensive than an X-700 and 20% less expensive than the X-500. 

The X-300 was definitely the budget end of the Minolta X Series and Minolta slashed down the features from the X-500 to get the price low to boost sales by enticing the mums and dads.

Minolta X-300
Minolta X-300 – its happiness on the cheap. Its low price belies it’s capabilities.

Gone from the other X series are…

  • The depth of field preview – I don’t mind as I seldom use it.
  • TTL flash  – I can get by without.
  • Aperture read out in viewfinder – I am old school and tend to look at the lens anyway.
  • Slow speed warning tone – some people may think that a blessing!
  • Removable back – No data-back capability – no loss. Most of them can’t date past 2000 anyway!
Minolta X-300 Film Speed identical to X-500
The film speed ring is identical to the Minolta X-500 with expanded range from 12-3200 ASA.
Minolta X-300 35mm SLR Controls
The Minolta X-300 featured a simplified top deck to speed assembly and get the price down.

All other features are the same as the Minolta X-500 so you have a camera with AP mode and manual speeds only and a reduced top plate with simpler layout to get the costs down for an entry level camera.  Back in its day they were sold as a kind of sophisticated point and shoot. Most users were going to lock the lens into its Auto Setting, put the camera on Auto and blaze away seeking a Kodak moment so it was perfectly designed for its intended customer base.

Manufactured in massive quantities (over 2 million reputedly sold in its first 10 years of production) , early models were made in Japan before production off shored to Malaysia and finally China. Late in its life the Minolta X-300 was given a makeover (more plastic) in the form of a more 1980s techno look and rebranded as the X-300S.

After Minolta ceased production in 2005 the camera was licensed to other manufacturers and often appears with Centon, Vivitar, Carena or Seagull badges. Some of these brands would be banging out Minolta X-300 / X-300S models until 2012 making it a contender for the longest production run of ANY 35mm SLR camera far outpacing it’s more illustrious ancestors and arguably holds the title of last manual focus camera in production.

All this chopping down of features may sound rather grim but in fact the Minolta X-300 is actually quite nice to shoot with. It retains all of the essential features of the other X series cameras. It can make use of a vast range of lenses and accessories like its more expensive sisters and even though later ones clearly started hacking into the quality (especially the third party ones like Centon) they can perform extremely well with quality lenses.  The standard camera shipped with the Minolta 50mm f2 which is a very sharp lens. Most that I have come across have had a 50mm f1.7 which is clearly the original lens which may indicate it was up-sold by the dealer when new. When new the standard finish was silver with black as a cost option.

Like the other X series the Minolta X-300 can suffer a blown capacitor as they were all made with electrolytic type capacitors. The headache with the Minolta X-300 is although there is only the one capacitor in the base its soldered on to a very fragile and heat sensitive flex board.  It needs a very low powered soldering iron and a very deft touch or else the flex board is toasted and that’s the end of the camera.

X-300 Shutter release capacitor
The cursed shutter release capacitor – these can be devilish to repair.
Badly repaired X-300 release capacitor
Mr Bodge-It has been at work. The flexible circuit board has been toasted. These are VERY fragile!

I have to confess when I shot the first Minolta X-300 to a sneaking snobbism towards it – it’s such a beginner level camera and I am such a consummate professional (yadda yadda) BUT I have shot quite a few of them and they have definitely grown on me. They are rather sweet and fuss free. I would put these down as ‘buried treasure’ – overlooked by most because of its ‘poor boy’ status but it’s a camera which can play way out of its league. That shouldn’t be surprising as its guts are basically an X-700 minus the frills.

Gatwick Air Museum taken with a Minolta X-300
The X-300 can certainly get the shots – this is an abandoned Hawker Hunter at Gatwick Aviation Museum. Taken with a 28mm Minolta MD3 and expired Fuji 400 scanned to black and white.

Overall a nice camera to shoot with – it lacks features I would prefer to have but I could easily live with it if it were the only camera I owned.  My only gripe with it is I hate the shutter speed control which feels fiddly and I don’t like the fact it has no stops at either end. It just rotates all the way round endlessly so its tough to judge by clicks as to whats going on which paired with the rather tiny markings for speed makes its a bit of a chore with my aged eyes.

As ever the real magic is in the lens rather than the camera and as the humble X-300 can make use of all of the superb glass made by Minolta it really is one of the last bargains left on the shelf and something of a buried treasure – ‘X’ really does mark the spot for these. Fully serviced units with a lens are readily available for around £80 making them a real bargain for the beginner to film.

Minolta X Series Accessories

Minolta created a whole range of accessories for the Minolta X Series and of course almost any Minolta SR/MC/MD lens will fit and work with the camera.

My own picks for accessories would be a bit more limited.

Minolta bought out three flash guns to integrate with the X-700s TTL flash. Of these easily the best is the 360-PX. It’s simply superb with bounce flash capability and every feature you could possible expect from a flash gun. It’s also very powerful.

On the downside its huge, and when loaded with batteries very heavy. I normally use a separate flash grip for it for fear of it snapping the hot shoe off the camera!

The Motor Drive 1 is a useful accessory as it provides an additional shutter release button for portrait/vertical shots but unlike some motor drives you do need it powered to be able to use the release buttons on the motor drive. Some drives will allow you to trip the shutter even with no batteries installed in the drive. It does though make the camera more grippy which is useful with longer lenses or when a flash is being used.

A word of caution. The X series used very many plastic drive gears inside and motor drives can place a great strain on the cameras internals so it usually best to avoid drives on older cameras.

Minolta X-700 with 1.4 lens, motor drive and flash
One of our own X-700s fully dressed with a 1.4 lens, motor drive and the 360PX flash.

Summing up

If there was ever a secret formula to success with selling cameras then Minolta certainly hit it with the Minolta X Series with literally millions produced and sold (Probably close to 6 million from Minolta alone!).

Minolta had pioneered many developments in film cameras and it seems fitting their last manual focus camera would be one of the last manual focus camera of any manufacturers to be in production.

The X-x00 Series  may well have been placeholders while Minolta got on with the real work of producing the first commercially successful auto focus system but the X series stayed in production a very long time and were amongst the last film cameras still being turned out. Many of these are still going strong with a whole new generation of film users which just goes to show if ever there was a magic formula, a secret ingredient ‘X’, Minolta may well have found it with the X-700, X-500 and the X-300.




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Toy Story – Konica Pop Review

Konica Pop

Konica Pop Review: Dating from 1982 the Konica Pop is a classic budget point and shoot.  This one comes from 1985 or later as its shows the ‘Hexanon’ lens marking. The lens is stated as being a 36mm f4 and is of course fix focused.

The specification for the shutter was 125th but I timed this one at 90th of a second based on the results of my ZTS shutter tester. Most SLRs will have a deviance of about 20% but the Konica Pop would show a 28% deviance – possibly acceptable and of course there’s no way of knowing how age may have affected it. The lens on this one was minty fresh and showed no issues though.
The lens on these was a fixed aperture with a maximum aperture of f4 – I would guess its minimum at around f8 based on its film stops.

The only way to adjust aperture is by changing the film speed ISO/ASA setting which is limited to 100, 200 or 400 ASA. Each step in the ASA setting basically opens/closes the lens aperture by 1 stop.

The Konica Pop sold around 1.5 million units in a range of colours including pink, yellow, blue, white, green, red and of course black and while it was undoubtedly popular in its day its frankly a bit of a horror. Don’t be fooled by that Hexanon script on the lens we are talking toy camera territory here!

Pop Up Flash
Konica Pop – the Pop-Up Flash. It’s not automatic you have to press the button! What did you expect on a camera this cheap?

I found this one in a charity shop and typically someone had left its two AA batteries inside to melt down.  Fixing it was a complete nightmare as the original owner or someone else had managed to bust the battery cover, probably while trying to get the batteries out. Repairing this was an exercise in drilling out some tiny holes to fit plastic lugs to hold the whole thing together and fixing this probably took longer than rebuilding a 35mm SLR.

On top of battery chamber woes the finish on these cant take Isoprop Alcohol.  It bleaches the colour out of the plastic!  This made getting the light seals out a complete perisher of a job. As if it couldn’t be made tougher Konica glued the light seals in with something akin to a contact or epoxy glue! This made removing them a horror job.  Needless to say the seals in this one were shot to pieces.


The body slot seals were awkward but the biggest challenge was the door seals.  The door has seals running all the way round it and I swear it used more light seal foam than any other camera I have fixed.  Doubtless the huge quantities of foam were a fix to the overall shoddy construction of the camera.  Overall assembly is best described as cheap and nasty.

Film Chamber
The awkward seals that wrap around almost the entire perimeter of the body AND the door!

The camera features a pop up flash (hence the ‘Pop’ name) and a press in switch to manage flash reduction if you are close to the subject.  The viewfinder is like something from a Christmas cracker with a kind of faux ‘brightline’ frame to correct for any parallax errors but you do get a red warning light if the light levels are too low and of course a flash ready neon indicator.  The low light LED is driven by a CdS cell on the front of the camera. The camera is wholly mechanical of course, the batteries are only there to drive the flash and activate the low low-light warning. So if you bagged one with a wrecked battery chamber you could still shoot with it in daylight conditions.

Konica Pop Up Flash
Konica Pop – the Pop-Up Flash. It’s not automatic you have to press the button! What did you expect on a camera this cheap?
Konica Pop Viewfinder
The viewfinder showing the red low-light warning LED, flash ready indicator and faux leather – like putting lipstick on a pig!

It’s as simple as camera as possible with almost no user input at all – just wind on and fire in most situations.  What enterprising manufacturers before the age of auto-focus used to call focus free. Rewinding is accomplished by a fold out metal crank handle on the base of the camera.  It also quixotically has a tripod mount which seems a bit superfluous with a fixed shutter speed and no self timer but the Konica boys probably thought they may as well do it just in case they got a bad review – frankly from this sample I cant see how they would ever have gotten a good one!

Konica Pop Base
The bizarre rewinder and pointless tripod mount. Hard to believe it was ever used by anyone.

Thanks to a bit of an accident with the first roll of film (alright I opened the film door without rewinding for the first time ever in about 10,000 rolls of film and 50 years of photography), I had to rush back to the charity shop I was repairing this for and beg to borrow it again so I could quickly bash through a roll of FP4.


With some experience of the camera you could, with some practice shots control aperture through the ASA rating. Black and white film is tolerant of two stops so you could probably use the ASA to manage as a rough and ready aperture control. For the film I shot I had to work blind to any issues having no experience with the camera so shot everything at ASA 100 and told the lab to work to that film speed.

As a result the camera would have been operating at its widest aperture so it could perhaps be improved with faster film and the resulting smaller aperture. Anyway, here’s some pics shot with it. Sunlight was bright around midday and I had to work fast in a town centre to get a roll of 36 shot.

Sample 1
Busker – Shot from shadow into light. Notice how mid distance is focused but far distance is soft due to the relatively fast f4 aperture.
Sample 2
Market stall owner -Sweet spot in focus but notice how its soft again in the distance – possibly setting the ASA to 400 may have helped.
Sample 3
Just Waiting – Note upper left as the lens goes super soft at its edges. Typical for a very cheap wide angle style.

So there you go. You may conclude from my relentless banging on about it that it’s simply terrible and from a repair perspective it was. Even a simple job like the light seals took a serious chunk of time even for a wizened old pro like me. The output was pretty dreadful, worse than the Instamatic 33 I had as a pre-teen BUT on the whole its a fun ‘toy camera’ to shoot with and I have to say despite its cheapness and overall rather poor quality it had a kind of charm to work with. You have to remember these were sold to mums and dads to get family pictures at the beach so its focus range was probably optimised for aunts, uncles and little Timmy at quite close quarters.

The restore work for this was done for a local charity shop as these cameras seem popular with hipsters and I offered to get the camera fully running so they could perhaps make some money rather than it being sold as junk.


Oddly enough on my return to the shop to hand the camera back after the roll of FP4 I got chatting with a student of film and they decided to buy the Konica Pop from the shop despite me pointing out a nice Miranda I tested and did some restore work on to help the shop out. The student was kind of wedded to the hipster vibe and I think they may have called it right. As a simple, uncomplicated intro to film it may well work well for them. Certainly with a bit of experience the Konica Pop may well turn out some interesting shots. It has an immediacy to it that more sophisticated cameras can never really achieve.

So…Summing up the Konica Pop – Its cheap, its nasty but its carefree and kind of fun. If it gets someone inducted into the magic of film it’s serving a worthy purpose and of course it was £35 in the till for the Princess Alice Charity so it’s all good.

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The Revenant – Minolta XG-1 Restoration

Minolta XG-1 Restoration

The Minolta XG-1 was the second in the XG series launched in 1977 as a budget camera to complement the top of the line XD series. Unlike its predecessor the SRT series, the XG series was all electronic. By the time the XG series came to market the SRT series was looking tired but would soldier on until 1981. The XG series would continue to use the outdated CdS metering cells (unlike the XD which was using the latest silicon cells) but it had an all electronic shutter.
In the aperture-priority automatic mode, the electronically governed shutter provides stepless speeds from 1s to 1/1000s.


The XG-1, like others in the XG series was geared for those on a budget or the beginner and was designed to operate mostly in aperture priority auto mode. The XG series also introduced a touch sensitive shutter release which would be carried over onto the X-x00 range. With the camera turned on the lightest touch of the shutter button would activate its electronics which would turn off again after 15 seconds of no activity. All XG bodies featured an ±2 EV exposure compensation dual.


One of the oddities of the XG series was the fact that the meter was inactive in manual mode and only comes alive in Auto Mode. The flagship camera of the XG series would be the XG-M which allowed metering in all modes and was launched in 1981 to fully replace the SRT series. The XG-M would lead on to the biggest selling Minolta of all time, the X-700 which is basically a turbo charged XG-M.

With the rise of a new generation of film users the humble XG-1 has been largely forgotten in the scramble for more prestigious cameras like its running mates like the SRT101, the X-700 and the glorious XD series BUT despite its humble origins the XG is still a very potent tool. This is the story of one rescued from near certain death which is why I think of this one as ‘The Revenant’.

Minolta XG-1
The XG-1 as it arrived on the bench, a quick look in a shop didn’t show up how much work would be needed.

Some time back I acquired a Minolta XG-1 from a charity shop, though its pretty typical of stuff sold on eBay by sellers who claim they found it in an attic or else it was dear old dads. The camera was low enough priced that I considered it worth it just for the lens so, ignoring the inner voice that said ‘it’s going to be a horror’ I parted with a few shekels and took it home.

While the XG-1 is not highly rated I thought it would be worth my time to bring this one up to par, plus it would provide valuable learning lessons.


A cursory examination at the shop had shown it to be in quite bad shape but once I got it on the bench it turned out to be far worse than I had imagined from a glancing examination. A picture tells a thousand words so here’s some pictures of it original state.

As you can see from the main picture at the start of the article a quick look seems to suggest its ok but a closer look reveals some real horrors. These included a jammed shutter speed lock button and what looked like 40 years worth of crud inside everything.

Minolta XG-1
Completely filthy case with rusted screws. The speed dial lock was jammed.
Minolta XG-1
More corrosion, spring detent for the mode switch not working and flash shoe cracked.
Minolta XG-1
Crack in rear of top cover, yet more issues to deal with.
Minolta XG-1
Cracked, scuffed, filthy and peeling leatherette. The least of the problems.

So in short the cosmetics were a mess, in the flesh it looked ten times worse than the pictures. More worrying was the badly gummed up shutter speed dial and the jammed shutter speed lock. The XG-1 has a small silver button to lock the camera in Aperture Priority mode and this was stuck fast. The mode selector dial was also not right – there were no detents on the dial. It should have clicked into each position but instead it just twirled round.

On top of the dreadful overall appearance the camera was completely filthy, it completely reeked of tobacco smoke, old farts and cat piss. This one was going to take some time but I do love old cameras and nothing gladdens my heart so much as getting them running again.

Surprisingly, when I got the shutter speed dial lock unglued and replaced the broken shutter speed dial, the shutter speeds were bang on to factory specification, so at least I wasn’t facing a complete rebuild.

Rotting light seals
Rotting light seals, the mirror bumper being in the same shape caused bigger issues.
Viewfinder
The viewfinder – most of this is rotting mirror bumper foam.

So this one sat on the bench for some time while I hunted for a suitable donor camera. Sure enough an XG-1 with completely blown electronics and a de-silvered prism turned up and so work could commence. One of the biggest horrors with the XG series is a delaminating prism caused by rotting foam. The first task was to get the lid off and take a look inside to find out why the shutter speed dial was jammed and its AP mode lock was stuck. This would also show why the mode selector switch detent was not working and may reveal other issues lurking under the surface.

Minolta XG-1
Donor camera and shabby XG-1 get the tops removed to see whats going on.
Minolta XG-1
Cleaning the mode selector tracks, the ASA and shutter speed dial also had the same treatment.

Sure enough, and as I suspected, someone had been messing in here before. The shutter speed and ASA dial were damaged and someone had applied something that looked like Bostik glue to repair them which had leaked onto the AP mode lock button gubbins. It took a very patient hour or so to remove the glue residue and lightly lubricate the lock so that it worked perfectly. The mode selector was missing its small ball bearing. Thankfully the rewind spindle (a common fail on these when handled by the clueless) was intact. What happens is people pull too hard on the rewind spindle to release the door, usually because the seals have gone gummy and jammed the door shut. Relentless pulling on the rewind capstan spindle eventually cracks the spindles shaft. Without the shaft intact theres not much to hold the top cover down or the mode selector so the ball bearing is often lost. Thankfully the donor camera had a full set of usable parts to replace the broken and missing parts on the XG-1 under refurbishment. Sadly the donors cameras leatherwork was in as bad a state as the original camera. The XG-1 used the Minolta soft vinyl leatherette and unfortunately this shrink over time and it’s seldom in a good condition.

Minolta XG-1
Another small detail – missing red index mark for the lens mounting.
Camera Body Rust Spots
More trouble in store. Rusty door hinge needs replacing.

With the shutter speed and mode dial working the camera was set up for shutter testing and amazingly returned results well inside factory specification so at least it would not need a full strip down. Even with the shutter going well a lot of work was needed cleaning the top PCB and cleaning out the various resistor tracks which had gummed up. The winding gears, where required, were lightly oiled or greased appropriately and then the remaining light seals and mirror bumper were stripped out ready for replacement.
It was now time to do the deep cleaning work on the camera to get its optics sparkling and also clean up the aperture resistor as the camera could be a little skittish when shifting aperture.

Cleaning the aperture resistor strip.
Cleaning the aperture resistor strip.
Minolta XG-1
Cleaning the aperture follower ring brushes.

Cleaning the aperture resistor strip is relatively straightforward using some contact cleaner or Isoprop but cleaning the follower ring brushes gives me the yips each and every time. I normally drop a bit of Isoprop or contact cleaner on with a Q-Tip and then VERY gently rub the brushes with a contact abrasive block. The brushes have to be supported during this by a small screwdriver to stop them from being bent. The brushes are incredibly fragile and breakage here is a disaster.

Now it was time to get to work on the optics…

Minolta XG-1
BEFORE – A huge amount of dirt and dust inside the mirror box.
Minolta XG-1
AFTER – This was taken when she was almost completed.

The optical train needed a lot of care. With the top off the eyepiece assembly was carefully cleaned with distilled water and Isoprop and then softly buffed. The prism surfaces were given a clean. Normally I would only use distilled water but in this case decaying muck form the mirror bumper had gotten between the focus screen and the prism. So a mild and very careful clean with dilute Isoprop was used. Similarly the prism surface facing the eyepiece was contaminated with what I assume was old tobacco smoke and this also needed cleaning with Isoprop and distilled water.

The focus screen was totally filthy with gum from light seals and tobacco smoke. Normally I clean focus screens with my favourite method of immersion in water with a very mild detergent before being flushed in distilled water and cold air blown dry. This screen was so bad I had to resort to a technique I adapted from cleaning telescope mirrors.
I apply a blob of mild washing up liquid, this has to be bleach free and ideally pH neutral or close to it. Focus screens don’t like harsh chemicals as they can melt or be otherwise ruined. I Apply a blob of the washing up liquid onto the screen and gently agitate it with my finger which has been softened with soap beforehand. The object is not to rub my fingers on the screen which will damage it but to gently roll the blob of liquid around – the finger just rides on the blob of liquid. Once done it’s flushed off with clean water. I like to do a final rinse with distilled water and then cold air blow dry with a rocket blower. The distilled water never leaves any residue. Done carefully and well this usually returns excellent results.

The mirror was cleaned with breath and gentle application of a Q-Tip. It’s best on a mirror to avoid any chemicals. During this process the mirror box was cleaned out of stray particles using low tack tape to adhere to the surfaces and then being pulled away before being carefully cleaned with a moist cotton bud and then finally vacuumed and blown out. The final finish was very pleasing and the view through the viewfinder was immaculate.

A new mirror bumper was installed after cleaning the optics out and then the focus screen was replaced.

Minolta XG-1
The state of the viewfinder as it was…
Minolta XG-1
…after cleaning of the prism, mirror and focus screen.

After a complete cleaning, some judicious lubrication and some slight tweaking the camera body came back onto form and handled like almost new. It was now time to get on with the lens and get some good quality light seals fitted. This camera provided a nice update to the light seals guide for any XG-1 owners who may need new seals.

The lens was in a state not too different from the camera with hazy elements, stiff focus and generally dirty both inside and out. Thankfully no oil was on its aperture and no fungus in its optics. This was an an early model MD 50mm f1.7 lens and was most likely the original lens with the camera. Wherever possible I try and keep all refurbishments accurate, using whatever lens would have been supplied with the camera. A great many XG-1s were supplied with the Rokkor 45mm f2 which, believe it or not, was a cheap lens back when the XG-1 was a budget camera for the aspiring photographer.

Minolta XG-1
Trimming the XG-1 – new light seals…plus new hinge and screws.
Minolta XG-1
…and a new red lens mounting index mark.
MD-Rokkor 50mm f1.7
Lens completely stripped and cleaned ready for reassembly and fresh lubricants.
Surrey Sculpture Park
Test shot taken with the restored XG-1 – Seems to be working just fine.

With the XG-1 and its lens fully refurbished it was time to get out and shoot with it to make sure that under real life conditions she would run reliably. I never sell a camera I wouldn’t be happy to shoot with myself and the XG-1 is no exception

The original poor quality leatherette was lightly glued into place and she was taken out for a run at the Surrey Sculpture park with some Ilford FP4.

I have to say for all the bad mouthing the XG-1 gets from camera snobs she shot wonderfully well and I found myself enjoying this most humble of Minoltas creations. For someone new to film this camera offers quite a bit. It has a very positive feel, a nice smooth film advance and a very smooth shutter pull off. It’s light and compact and its AP mode is spot on at getting a good exposure.

The lens returned some beautifully sharp images but I chose this one to illustrate the article as it kind of sums up how I felt at times getting this one going.

After film testing had produced some very satisfactory images the only challenge left was to get the leatherette sorted out. Normally I would stick with whatever the camera had originally but I felt after all the work that’s gone into this one she deserved a little something special so opted for a two-tone red leatherette from Hugo Studios. The original leatherette was removed and the camera surfaces cleaned of any residues with a mild Isoprop solution. Replacing leatherette has its risks. On many cameras it forms part of the light sealing. Under the back door of an XG there are numerous holes. I imagine these were originally for a film memo holder that was never fitted to the early XGs. To prevent any possible problems for a future owner I sealed these with some insulation tape under the leatherette and small patches of light flocking on the inner door beneath the film pressure plate.

With her new leatherette, new top plate and cleaned up body parts she really does look very beautiful.

Minolta XG-1
The new top cover and controls.
Minolta XG-1
New top cover fully cleaned and repaired mode selector.
Minolta XG-1
Ready for a new lease of life – very beautiful to look at and to shoot with.

So it’s journeys end. I think of this one as the revenant for good reason. She has literally come back from the dead! Few camera techs would consider an XG economic to repair and refurbish but on the journey through I learnt more about the XG series. I doubt I would do another one as it just isn’t economic to put this kind work and resources into a camera which I cant sell at a price that makes any sense but, for someone out there the revenant will be a beautiful camera to use and enjoy.
Whoever that person is I wish them happy shooting and may all of their pictures be as beautiful as the camera that took them.

My thanks to Eugene Pate of Learn camera Repair for his amazingly useful guide on the XG and to all of the folk on the Learn Camera Repair FB group for their help encouragement over the past few years which has helped give me the skills and confidence to tackle repairs to so many cameras.

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Canon FTb Review

Canon FTb

Noticeable by it’s Absence

Of all the cameras being hyped by today’s uber-trendy wunderkinds on the web like the Canon AE-1, the Minolta X-700 and the Pentax K1000, the FTb is noticeable by its absence. But, it is the forgotten wonder from the days when stuff was built to last. Manufactured from metal hammered out by Canon and just maybe, the best camera to ever come out of Canon, at least according to this Canon FTb Review! Sadly, it’s been so forgotten that even me, a serious photographer when the FTb was in its heyday, had forgotten all about it entirely until I was browsing a camera store in Tokyo and spotted one.

The FTb just goes to show that if anyone can Canon could….at least back then. The FTb is built like a Swiss watch.  I can’t hardly blame Canon for wanting to move the world forward to plastic, electronic junk like the Canon AE-1 and its progeny. After all the AE-1 revived Canon’s fortunes and went on to become the best selling SLR of all time but hype and volume doesn’t mean good. There’s an old German saying that 10,000 flies can’t be wrong and that may well be true -but just look at what they are buzzing around!

The AE-1 paved the way for Canons dominance of the market but it’s a shame that in the rush forward for technology old fashioned virtues like longevity got trampled underfoot. The AE-1 may well have been a big seller but its success came not from excellence of the product but a multi million dollar advertising campaign. The FTb though comes from a period when excellence came as standard and feels like it was designed by people who actually used cameras rather than a consumerist piece of plastic.

The Canon FTb was among the last of the super high-quality cameras designed for the serious amateur photographer and was in production from 1971 to 1976 when the AE-1 supplanted it as Canons leading pro-sumer camera.

Built to the same standards as the Canon F1 professional line camera the FTb had to lose a few features to get the price right for the serious amateur (the F1 was aimed squarely at the deep-pocketed pros). 

The cutbacks aren’t very much for most people to worry about today – the Canon FTb lost the interchangeable prisms, focus screens and motor drive connection, and the titanium shutter curtain and replaced this with rubberised silk. A modern user won’t miss the interchangeable prism or focus screen because even if you could find one for the F1 the price would be as much as for the camera. But, like the pro-level F1 the humble FTb has silky smooth operation, a slick winder, easily one of the best shutter release pull-offs of anything I have ever shot and on top of that thanks to what Canon called the ‘Shockless Mirror System’ – the camera is smooth as silk on firing with almost no vibration or mirror slap.  It’s all helped by the weight and solid construction of the Canon FTb which helps cut down any vibration . 

Solid in the hands with slick and positive feel the Canon FTb is a complete delight to shoot with.

Painshill Park
Painshill Park captured with Canon FTb 50 mm F1.8 lens and Fuji Technical 100 ASA film

Metering with the FTb is simplicity itself, like the Minolta SRT101 it uses a match needle arrangement but unlike many match needle systems Canon really used their noodles and the meter only covers the range of apertures the mounted lens can support.  Many match needle systems have all possible readings in the system which means the display can be crowded. When you mount a lens on the FTb only the possible aperture range of the lens is available AND the needle auto-ranges based on the lens plus there’s a rectangle in the viewfinder which gives you the spot where the meter will take its reading from.  This is around 10% of the viewfinder area. It’s a kind of primitive spot meter and works very well indeed.

As a handy warning when you turn the ASA or shutter speed to a combination that will take the meter out of range you get a red flag appear in the viewfinder – this is all of course mechanical and unlike the Minolta SRT-101 where its all done with springs and strings on the FTb its all done with gears so its tougher and more durable (although to be fair its a lot more awkward when things go wrong).

The FTb can run with any FL lens with stop down metering but it runs better with FD lenses for open aperture metering. I often use an FL lens but do find stop down metering a pain, so I prefer to use FD compatible lenses with mine. It’s worth mentioning here that the stop down control on the FTb is beautifully positioned. On the earlier version, the stop down is very sensitive and positive with a great feel thanks to the larger lever that’s contoured ergonomically for the end of your middle finger. It’s easily the best positioned and feeling stop down lever of anything I have ever used, Canon never did get it right again with the stop down lever but to be fair almost no one else did either.

Focusing is via a micro prism collar or just using the matte area of the focus screen. The viewfinder is about par with almost any other camera of the period.  The Olympus OM-1 has a bigger field of view, the Minolta X-700 is brighter – neither of these were around when the FTb was released! Compared with cameras like the Pentax K1000 the Canon FTb is as good if not better. The FTb has a very finely ground screen that’s fairly bright compared to its peers so its quite easy to focus on the matte area.

To (FT)b or n(ot) to (FT)b ? ……That is the question. The FTb was given a mid-life upgrade in 1973 and the newer version is unofficially known as the FTb-n or nFTb and bad advice is often handed out on film fan forums regarding the latter model with people ignorant of the construction of the camera always touting the later model ‘cos you get a shutter speed display in the viewfinder’ .  The upgrade introduced all of the following changes:

  • a plastic tip to the winding lever (which is nice),
  • a shutter speed display in the viewfinder (some people like this),
  • a different self-timer lever (nicked from the Canon F1)
  • a plastic cover to cover off the PC socket on the front of the camera (why? Well some old school flashes could deliver a whopping 300v when triggered and they discharged this into the cameras flash circuit – this 300v would turn up at the PC socket which meant if your fingers were on it when the flash fired you might be tempted to say ‘ow!’),
  • a larger shutter release button (very slightly bigger – you’ll never notice).

There is though a huge downside to the ‘upgrade’: Some of its internals were changed out for plastic parts, and the wonderfully smooth roller bearings on the earlier models were replaced with plastic spindles. An ex-Canon tech told me that the FTB-n after initial production models were produced was swapped over to plastic parts as a test for the Canon AE-1 that was then in development. I cant say whether thats true or not but would seem possible. The few early FTB-n models I have seen do in fact retain metal parts while the later ones substituted a lot of metal parts for plastic. Most people on forums (or many other Canon FTb reviews) will tell people to get the newer version as it has the shutter speed displayed in the viewfinder, this is of very limited use on a camera with no motor drive and with its speed shutter selector on the top of the camera and means you trade an ‘extra’ (which is of not much use) for build quality.

Canon FTb-n
The revised Canon FTb-n – Note the obvious giveaway of the self-timer lever & plastic-tipped advanced lever – Canon FTb Review

So, If you have the choice to get old or new versions and you don’t particularly need the shutter speed showing in the viewfinder, and lets face it who does, then get the older, original version. It’s a far nicer camera with smoother operation.  Evertyime you wind on the buttery smooth winder you will know why.

For those who faff with loading film the FTb followed on from the Canon FT with a quick load (QL) system.  You just pull the film out to a mark on the rear of the camera and close the back.  The camera will sort out getting the film on the take up spool for you.  Neat eh? Very handy for those who struggle to get film into a camera. It’s fast and simple.

On top of all the good stuff already mentioned it’s worth repeating – the camera is built to a very high standard throughout – even the later FTb-n is far better made than many other cameras even back then but the original FTb is a masterpiece. It’s relatively easy to work on so almost any professional tech should be able to fix one if you run into a problem. The F1 for all its flash is reputed to be a bitch when things go wrong – and that translates into fewer techs willing to work on one and bigger repair bills.
Unlike the AE-1 electronics are at a minimum and not critical to camera operation, there are no fiddly Teflon cords to break and because it was built like a tank they generally survive fine. 

Because most of these were bought by serious amateurs there’s more of them in decent condition compared to the AE-1 which tended to be bought by mums and dads who were clueless about photography and as a result many AE-1s were ill kept or unused leading to headaches – like the notorious Canon ‘cough’.  There’s no risk of the Canon ‘cough’ on the FTb – its internals are entirely different from the A series and it was built to a much higher quality.

No Canon FTb review would be complete without downsides, and at least for me, the biggest downside is the daft battery check arrangement.  To check battery status you have to set the film speed dial to ASA 100 and set the shutter to 1000th so it’s not terribly convenient.  Back in the day when these were being made most people had a mercury battery in the camera which would probably last longer than they would be alive so the need to check battery state was few and far between.
These days due to mercury batteries being no longer available you are forced into Alkalines, Silver cells or Zinc Airs with much shorter lifetimes – meaning you need to use the battery check a bit more frequently than old gits like me or your grandad ever did back in 1971.

The Canon FTb was designed with mercury batteries in mind outputting 1.35 volts.  It’s a simple enough camera to recalibrate the meter for a pro – you need a calibrated light source – or failing that just use a battery adapter and a Zinc Air (check out the guide for powering these old cameras here).

The downside for any weedy types is weight – it’s a hefty old bit of kit, with an early Canon 50mm f1.8 FD lens an FTb tops the scales at almost 800grams – yes almost a kilo of weight! As heavy as a Nikon F with Photomic finder and lens. All those metal gears and ball bearings and a solid chassis with metal everything add up.  It’s a small price to pay though for reliability and vibration free shooting.

Buying an FTb today…

Thanks to the Canon AE-1 fanboys the FTb has been relegated to the weeds and as a result can often be found quite cheap. When buying you need to watch out for prism deterioration.  Canon used a foam cover on the prism, over time the foam decays and as the foam dissolves the acidity of the foam will slowly eat the prism.  So if you get one make sure the prism is good – it will usually show itself as two lines in the viewfinder.  To fix this you need a new prism and these are hard to come by.  If it doesn’t have this issue when you buy it then you need the top off pronto to get that foam out before this problem happens.  This is a common problem with the FTb and also the Olympus OM-1. Its not a hard job to manage to get the foam out of an FTb and its covered by a handy guide I wrote as part of this article here and well as in my tutorial and guide to servicing the FTb which is available here.

Canon FTb Meter Rack
The plastic meter rack gears in a late model FTB-n – These can be stripped easily.
Canon FTb Curtain Brakes
The leather curtain brakes in all versions of the FTb – these can fail as the glue ages.

Other issues issues the camera can suffer from include the leather curtain brakes falling off as the original glue dries and weakens. These are a tough challenge for an amateur to repair but it can be done. With the later FTb-n the plastic gears related to its meter can be stripped easily and doubly so if the camera has received the attentions of less than competent repair people. Stripped gears are much less likely on the earlier FTb model.
So, as with any classic camera either buy from a good source or be ready to fully check the camera out.

Other minor issues are of course decaying light seals and mirror bumpers common to all of these classic cameras.  These are covered for the Canon FTb in my light seal guide here.

In a nutshell…

Canon FTb & FTb n
Top and front view. nFTB on the left showing its plastic tipped advance lever and the all original FTb on the right with an original ‘silver nose’ FD lens – Canon FTb Review.

To sum up the Canon FTb review – it lacks some features of flashier, later cameras for sure, she comes from an age of fully manual cameras after all where people were expected to read a manual and learn stuff but, like a plain girl in her best frock at a party she may not be the looker but you know she will be nicest to talk to and you have more chance of scoring.

For full technical specs pop over to the Canon Museum

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Last Place Hero – The Chinon CE-5

Camino

Mostly plastic, mainly good was how the Chinon CE-5 camera was described by a review at the time.  Here’s my take on it 40 years after it launched.

More forgotten then even the Nikon F-301(which I happen to love)  the Chinon CE-5 is definitely a last place hero though in fact in its day one of the very first cameras to ever be able to manage Auto Focus a feat which eluded many of the bigger makers.  In part the AF may have doomed it.  A savvy buyer, back in the balmy days of 1981, when the CE-5 launched may well have reasoned that  if the big boys like Pentax, Canon, Minolta and Nikon have all fallen flat on their faces trying to make Auto Focus work why trust a no-name to get it right.

The three small contacts that appear on the upper left side of the lens mount were there to facilitate operation with an AF lens sold as an extra.  Chinon only ever made two AF lenses for this.  A standard 50mm and a 35mm-70mm Zoom.  Both are now so rare I spent three years seeking one without any luck at all.  The lenses are big, bulky and dwarf the camera.

Chinon CE-5
The CE-5 Sans Grip

The Chinon CE-5 was only in production for about 12 months and had the disadvantage in the UK market, along with every other Chinon, by being exclusively sold by Dixons. A high street chain with  a reputation for goods of dubious quality and often shockingly cheap and shabby. As a result I doubt Chinon ever really got any serious photographers attention and were generally seen as cheap wannabees.  That’s a real shame as their build quality is often superb and functionally the cameras work extremely well the CE-5 is no exception.

So lets have a look at the Chinon CE5 –

  • It featured a Seiko Electronic Vertical Metal Bladed shutter – quite some improvement over most budget cameras with their cloth horizontal shutters.  The CE-5 uses a stepless shutter for its Aperture Priority (AP) mode with speeds from ‘B’ to 2000th – few cameras from this period would run over 1000th.
  • Exposure compensation for the AP mode up to 2 stops – it’s a little odd they way they implemented it but it’s there plus an exposure lock function which Chinon called Exposure Memory.
  • A power winder/motor drive option that allowed the camera to be fired off the power winder grip even with no batteries in the winder.  Adding the power winder made the camera very comfy to hold and with no batteries added little weight. 
  • One of the best Depth of Field Preview (DoF) controls I have ever used.  Only the Canon FTb has a better and more conveniently placed one in my experience.
  • Slick controls, well placed, no annoying on/off switch (the bane of my life with Minolta X-x00 series.  The on/off switch is located on the shutter speed dial.  If it’s off it’s off, if you have selected a shutter speed its on.
  • Smooth winder action that would give Minolta a run for their money and a better viewfinder than anything except the Minolta with their AcuMatte screens.  The CE-5 has a nice bright view with a  full information viewfinder showing Aperture, Selected Speed and the meters  recommended speed.  In Aperture priority mode the display shows the cameras selected speed. The view finder features a splits prism and a micro collar for focusing but the screen is fixed and non-interchangeable. Again few cameras have interchangeable screens and this is usually limited to pro quality gear.
  • Hot shoe, very standard by the 1980s but with the nice touch of a flash ready indicator in the viewfinder.
  • And to round it out an electronic self timer – none of this clockwork stuff seen on vintage gear but fully  electronic and selectable for 5 or 10 seconds – a nice touch which really shows the CE-5 was modern from the age of electronics.

So an excellent run of features all topped off with a nice soft plastic external leatherette with a very soft feel, good ergonomics and something special for the creative photographer – a simple double exposure switch.  Just slide the switch over after taking a photos and wind on.  The lever will disengage the wind on mechanism but arm the shutter.  After taking the second shot the lever automatically returns to its normal mode though you can flip it again if you want a go at doing a triple exposure.


Chinon really put some effort in for the CE-5 and launched it with a whole load of extras including an odd looking flash which works very well.

On top of all of the good things already mentioned the CE-5 used the Pentax K mount so there are literally thousands of lenses that it can accept.  Users should beware though that some 3rd party lenses can cause the lens release tab to jam.  I had a Sigma that regularly caused issues.

Shinin Auto S-280 Flash
The Unusual Chinon Flash

Best thing of all with the Chinon CE-5 is they were mostly bought by mums and dads and seldom used. Many are probably still sitting in cupboards little used in near perfect condition and often available at bargain prices as a result.

With all this goodness flowing from the CE-5 it surely has some downsides – right? Well there’s no Mirror Lock Up (MLU) which is unlikely to ever be a problem for most people and if it is something you must have well that’s tough luck as most cameras after the early 80s deleted this as a feature even in their top of the range pro equipment .

Chinon CE-5 Top
Chinon CE-5 Simple Clear Controls

It’s not perfect, it’s mostly made of plastic, the body core is actually metal but it would be hard to know that from the exterior as almost all the external elements are plastic.  Even the winder lever is plastic! Canon spoofed it with their plastic casings and used a copper base paint layer so the camera  would  ‘brass’ over time and appear to be made of metal, they also used a metal baseplate.  Minolta used a similar trick with a brass undercoat but put a plastic ‘protector’ plate over the base to disguise the fact that it’s plastic.  Chinon just shot from the hip and made it out of plastic and had done with it. That’s a real shame as the plastic fantastic vibe does make the camera feel cheap. The CE5 does feel a little more fragile in the hands especially with regards to its winder lever but that’s just a feeling rather than fact.

The biggest downside with Chinon is they are nigh impossible to repair.  They were never a huge seller in the day in the UK so spares and expertise are hard to come by and in the CE-5s case its so heavily electronic any faults are likely to mean it’s a total loss.  To be fair that’s no different with many electronic cameras from this period.  Even Minoltas XD (regarded by many as the best MF camera ever made) can suffer catastrophic failure due to its ageing electronics.

Obviously being electronic the CE-5 needs batteries, but these are standard and readily available SR44 type which is nice as it means no messing about with battery conversions but it has no manual backup so without batteries your dead.

As a shooter the CE-5 I owned was a great grab and go camera.  It was reliable and its meter accurate, it fitted easily in the hand and when kitted out with a motor drive was a good grippy camera.  The simple and well laid out controls with a full information viewfinder make it an easy camera to live with.

Chinin CE-5 With Power Winder
Fully Dressed with Motor Drive CE-5

A massive range of glass is readily available for it thanks to its Pentax K mount which lets you get on with almost any glass – you can even get a readily available K Mount to M42 adaptor to use older M42 lenses which are plentiful and cheap.  I used some Chinon M42 mounted lenses with mine via a mount adaptor and found Chinon glass to be extremely good in the 50mm range. The lenses perform extremely well and are very well made using brass and aluminium construction when most manufacturers had moved to plastic. Equipped with a readily available and ludicrously inexpensive Pentax M series 50mm it’s both compact and light.

Kitted out with a Pentax M-Series lens my own CE-5 shot very well and with its range of features could outperform many cameras from the bigger brands. If only Chinon had made it with metal and not had the awful Dixons brand attached to it, I suspect this would have been a very serious competitor to the Canon AE-1 and the Minolta X-700 so beloved of the new generation of film fans.

Sadly, a last place hero thanks to its off brand name and its more glamorous rivals shining more brightly but, it’s definitely a star performer when it comes to value and functionality.

Chinon CE-5 With Motor Drive Full Frontal
Sharp and Compact the CE-5 with Pentax Lens and Motor Drive